An optical disc restoration device is adapted for restoring, repairing and for polishing the surface of optical discs, namely compact discs (CD's), digital versatile discs (DVD's) and Blu-ray discs. A conventional optical disc restoration device generally comprises a housing, a motor mounted in the housing, an operation platen mounted in the housing and adapted for holding an optical disc, and pads or buffers, and rotatable by the motor to restore, repair or polish an optical disc. A top lid may house the pads or buffers, such that when the lid is in a closed position, the pads or buffers contact the optical disc in a restoration cycle.
Optical disc restoration devices are typically used to restore multiple optical discs within a short time frame. Wear and tear on an optical disc restoration device from multiple uses often effects the restoration capability of the device, including but not limited to wear and tear on the pads, depletion and clogging of restoration polishing agents, and improper alignment, movement of the pads and pressure of the pads on the optical disc from overall structural stress. The inventors seek to address restoration issues that arise in the pressure, the friction levels and the shifting of the pads on an optical disc during a restoration cycle, which may be altered as the motor spins and the overall structure of the device is under stress, thereby resulting in reduced restoration, repair and polishing power of the pads on an optical disc.
Presently, to optimize friction levels between pads and an optical disc in an optical disc restoration device requires significant quality control measures for fine tuning pressure, friction levels and for optimizing electric current in new devices, and complex disassembly of devices to repair and diagnose malfunctioning devices, including significant readjustment of parts throughout a device, readjustment of pads, the platen holding an optical disc, the motor and its controls. Other inventions that have been developed have used springs behind the pads and particular pad materials to maintain deformation levels of the pad, none of which result in easy to manage friction adjustment mechanisms as is apparent with the present invention.
The inventors have thus developed a friction adjustment mechanism that provides an adjustment screw easily rotatable by a provider in a quality control measure, a repair operator, or any user wherein adjusting the screw in one direction increases the friction between the pads and the optical disc, and wherein adjusting the screw in another direction decreases the friction between the pads and the optical disc, such that a provider, repair operator or other user can easily rotate to set and reset friction levels of pads on an optical disc in an optical disc restoration device, at any time. The invention effectively simplifies quality control procedures, repair procedures for distributors, manufacturers and other users alike, and provides easy to use devices and methods thereof for providing optimized optical disc restoration.